Spring into Summer Health

Spring into Summer Health

Quarterly Resolutions Review

Spring is here, to be enjoyed in full measure.  On the horizon is summertime swimsuit season.  Now is a good time to reflect on the resolutions you made at the start of the year.  Without judgment, review the goals you made in January.    See which ones may be working favorably and which ones need readjustment.  The following tips may help you reach your goals more easily.

Plan then Act

Write down the goals you wish to accomplish including practical, feasible dates by which you plan to achieve them.  If your goals are health or weight related, change may occur more easily if you become accountable to yourself through a tracking system.  Record your food intake, exercise, energy and other features that help you recognize smooth as well as tough spots.  Reinforce positive progress.  Integrate new strategies to make tough spots easier.  Reach out for help if you find yourself stuck or frustrated.

Small Changes, Big Success

To make progress easier, take the stairs rather than the elevator; swap out soda for water flavored with fresh fruit; snack on crunchy veggies instead of chips; have fresh or frozen fruit or yogurt instead of ice cream or cookies; prepare or purchase veggie laden meals to have wholesome food within reach; eat regularly to discourage voracious hunger; eat at home more often than dining out to keep temptation and portions in check.

Exercise Essentials

To succeed make yourself, your health and your body priorities.  Schedule your workouts as essential events in your calendar.  Exercise in enjoyable, practical ways, thirty to sixty minutes, five days weekly, whether at home, outside, in a studio, gym or your office.  Contact us if you’re having trouble getting started, staying consistent or falling short of seeing the results you expect. 

Reward Yourself

Preplanned rewards can help you stay focused and speed your progress.  Indulge in healthy rewards to celebrate your hard work.   Buy a new fitness outfit or sneakers, book a personal training session, go to a museum or the theatre, treat yourself to a massage or pedicure, plan a getaway, visit a loved one.

Reach Out For Success

Sustainable change takes time.  Try to be patient.   If you get stuck or frustrated, reach out for the support, strategies, accountability or personalized programs that will get you where you want to be.  We can help you.

Putting New Habits in Motion

Putting New Habits into Motion

January is a time to reset the unhealthy habits acquired during the holiday season and is a time to forgive yourself for any setbacks experienced during these treat-filled times.   In these times of change, remember the famous saying of Alexander Pope, “to err is human; to forgive, divine.”

1. Establish an exercise routine
   Aim for at least 30 minutes of exercise a day.  Daily movement will help shed any of the holiday weight gain, and will ensure you are developing healthy habits to keep up for the entire year.
    
2. Clean up your diet
   If you are easily tempted by holiday treats, clear them out of your house.  Throw out any food that will not provide healthy nourishment.
    
3. Be forgiving of yourself
   Having one unhealthy meal in a day is no reason to give up on your health for the day.  Instead, vow to eat more veggies than normal the next day and make sure to drink plenty of water. 
    
4. Stay hydrated
   Often we mistake our thirst for hunger.  Buy a colorful reusable water bottle to remind yourself to drink more water.  Drink a glass as soon as you wake up, one before every meal and one before you go to sleep at night.  See how much more energy you have when you are hydrated and notice how you skin glows when you drink more water. 

The whole year is ahead of you.  This leaves ample time to make small changes to equate to a long-term lifestyle change.  Rome was not built in a day; neither will all unhealthy habits diminish overnight.  This year, write down one goal per month you wish to work on and build on these goals every month.  By the end of the year you will have 12 new healthy habits that will seem second nature.

We encourage you to be open-minded to change and to be patient with your hard work.  We promise it will be worth your while.